PT What was the hype/anticipation for The Phantom Menace like?

It was much bigger and more magical then the interest for the Disney trilogy.....all the fans knew it was about Luke and Leias parents, many of the fans were not as jaded as they are now, people were excited to see the teenage Obi Wan. That was were the attention was focused back then. Obi Wan and the twins parents. Not like now where Disney blatantly says its about new characters and older fans keep screaming and kicking for the old geezers of the OT to dominate. The hype pre TPM is was got me into Star Wars. I was never into the OT coming up, had only seen ROTJ. I can remember all the merchandise and how happy everyone was to see the beginnings of Georges Complete Saga. I remember the hype for the first ever Star Wars dvd. The very first Star War Dvd ever released was The Phantom Menace. the 2nd disc got so much play in my dvd player. I watched the making of disc more than the movie and I watched the movie a lot. I even bought the OT on Vhs to connect the dots. Trying to guess how GL goes from TPM to ANH hope was the most fun I had during Star Wars, there is a lot of dialog in episodes 1 4 5 and 6 that basically tell you what happens in episodes 2 and 3. Nice little tightly packaged story.

 

Sounds like they have a lot in common with Star Wars fans.

Being stuck in the past is what being a fan is all about. While the normal world goes on fans fixate on something be it music, TV, movies, cars, clothes literally anything. The thing is that virtually everyone is a fan of something.

Star Wars fans are no more special than any other fans. The specialness is talking to other fans about it. Celebration is going to be a gathering place for Star Wars fans. That is no different than people at a postage stamp show or any other kind of show.

Haven't NKOTB and Backstreet Boys been doing tours? The Monkees are going back on tour and they are all about 70!

Luke, Leia and Han are back in TFA, Mulder and Scully are coming back, Coach is coming back, something is always coming back. Tron was back and is coming back again, The Secret of NIMH and on and on. Noah came back recently and Terminator is coming back again for the 3rd or 4th time since T2.

So to tie this in with Star Wars the prequels were Star Wars both coming back and being virtually entirely new at the same time. So new that even the easy things to do that pretty much everyone else ever would do weren't done.

No one could have possibly expected that TPM would be what it was besides the most ultra basic things that we thought we knew and even then Obi-Wan didn't find Anakin so even that was changed.

Yet the audience embraced it week after week, month after month to make it one of the biggest hits in history then and it still is now. They reembraced it on VHS, DVD and now BD. They embraced it in the all-important merchandise sector. A whole generation of children grew up with it and between the movies and TCW that will continue forward.

I don't see why some people don't want to celebrate that just like they celebrate the same thing that happened before. Almost certainly the same thing is going to be happening again starting this year with the release of TFA.

What is there to be upset about?

That people like Star Wars? That upsets some fans?

Really?

 

I think you missed the point. The box office argument is not a good one.

People can like Justin Beiber but to compare them and let's say Queen is folly, but if you use the money argument, Biebs must be on par or better. Please.

However if you use the BO with adjusted inflation, the OT is ahead of all PT films.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

TPM is the highest pt film at 17 followed by ROTS at 60 and AOTC at 87.

 

Actually it is when you're discussing popularity, which is the argument that folks like lovelikewinter constantly go to. "Everyone hated those movies and the prequels killed Star Wars' popularity." Bull. The Phantom Menace received repeat business, which is only done when a movie is well liked. Merchandise sold like hotcakes and when the film came out on DVD, it was the top selling DVD that year. If folks would stop trying to rewrite history and make it seem like these films were hated and that there was no anticipation for the releases of Episode II and III because "everyone hated the Phantom Menace", then we wouldn't be having this ridiculous discussion.

 

Now you're just using hyperbole. People liked them, even loved them. I get it. But the OT was beloved by a generation. The PT isn't.

 

No, I'm using common sense. Repeat business is generated due to a film being well liked. Shall I pull up the week to week numbers on Phantom Menace? Or how Revenge of the Sith ruled the summer of 2005 (the same summer that introduced the world to a Christopher Nolan Batman)?

May 14–20 1 $40,840,267 - 2,970 - $13,751 $40,840,267 0
May 21–27 1 $99,354,493 +143% 2,970 - $33,453 $140,194,760 1
May 28–Jun 3 1 $82,671,711 -16.8% 3,023 +53 $27,348 $222,866,471 2
Jun 4–10 1 $48,465,579 -41.4% 3,024 +1 $16,027 $271,332,050 3
Jun 11–17 2 $37,881,798 -21.8% 3,024 - $12,527 $309,213,848 4
Jun 18–24 4 $28,343,914 -25.2% 3,019 -5 $9,389 $337,557,762 5
Jun 25–Jul 1 5 $22,317,549 -21.3% 3,126 +107 $7,139 $359,875,311 6
Jul 2–8 5 $17,817,665 -20.2% 2,628 -498 $6,780 $377,692,976 7
Jul 9–15 5 $11,860,633 -33.4% 2,447 -181 $4,847 $389,553,609 8
Jul 16–22 8 $9,020,017 -23.9% 1,850 -597 $4,876 $398,573,626 9
Jul 23–29 9 $6,602,686 -26.8% 1,615 -235 $4,088 $405,176,312 10
Jul 30–Aug 5 9 $5,375,641 -18.6% 1,628 +13 $3,302 $410,551,953 11
Aug 6–12 11 $3,574,752 -33.5% 1,199 -429 $2,981 $414,126,705 12
Aug 13–19 14 $2,452,787 -31.4% 771 -428 $3,181 $416,579,492 13
Aug 20–26 16 $1,934,229 -21.1% 631 -140 $3,065 $418,513,721 14
Aug 27–Sep 2 22 $1,333,175 -31.1% 497 -134 $2,682 $419,846,896 15
Sep 3–9 17 $1,752,778 +31.5% 604 +107 $2,902 $421,599,674 16
Sep 10–16 20 $900,045 -48.7% 518 -86 $1,738 $422,499,719 17
Sep 17–23 13 $1,098,076 +22.0% 732 +214 $1,500 $423,597,795 18
Sep 24–30 12 $1,065,393 -3.0% 766 +34 $1,391 $424,663,188 19
Oct 1–7 15 $940,420 -11.7% 689 -77 $1,365 $425,603,608 20
Oct 8–14 16 $778,939 -17.2% 550 -139 $1,416 $426,382,547 21
Oct 15–21 18 $579,883 -25.6% 494 -56 $1,174 $426,962,430 22
Oct 22–28 25 $422,843 -27.1% 386 -108 $1,095 $427,385,273 23
Oct 29–Nov 4 28 $324,522 -23.3% 331 -55 $980 $427,709,795 24
Dec 24–30 28 $367,276 - 368 - $998 $430,237,852 29
Dec 31–Jan 6 30 $308,532 -16.0% 354 -14 $872 $430,546,384 31

2000
Date(click to view chart) Rank WeeklyGross %Change Theaters / Change Avg. Gross-to-Date Week#
Jan 7–13 33 $241,970 -21.6% 296 -58 $817 $430,788,354 33
Jan 14–20 42 $130,514 -46.1% 144 -152 $906 $430,918,868 35
Jan 21–27 48 $89,066 -31.8% 117 -27 $761 $431,007,934 36
Jan 28–Feb 3 50 $80,361 -9.8% 103 -14 $780 $431,088,295 37

A 16% drop between weeks one and two. Considering we currently live in an era where you're doing okay to have a 40% drop in your second week, that's pretty damn impressive. Word of mouth, even in 1999, is the only reason for the drop to be so low.

I suggest you ask someone who was 10 years old or younger when the prequels first came out. I'm willing to bet that that generation holds the PT in their hearts much like you hold the OT in yours.

 

The Phantom Menace played from may -october 1999 at the 30 screen amc where i live. Nothing has played that long since then.

 

Considering TPM's Queen Amidala and Darth Maul are some of the most recognizable and iconic images in Star Wars -- that argument will always be invalid.

 

Weirdly, he almost seems proud to be the first to bash it lol, drawing a line in the sand early. I personally dont like movie crowds, I saw TPM on a tuesday morning in July 99, it was only 5 people in the theater. I didnt go in expecting anything, but it was a great film, so instead of leaving the theater I stayed in the movies to watch it again.

 

I'm not proud I didn't like it. I was pissed I didn't like it. I wanted the like it. I just didn't. I'm glad some did but I really have a problem with some folks painting those who didn't like it as lesser fans. Arguments as "You just don't get it" or "you just like things that are different" or some other reason that makes us inferior fans.

I'm a Star Wars fan that hated the prequels. I've seen them dozens of time, I've read the ring theory, I've given them chances beyond any other thing I've ever hated. Again I'm not proud of that fact, it's just a fact.

 

So what you are saying is that what the objective results of the mass audience who made Star Wars a phenomenon in the first place is not a good argument?

So then what is the point?

Objective measures of success don`t equate to success?

Then what does?

Only opinions that you agree with?

You aren`t saying that are you?

If the people who think that he is then who is anyone else to say that they are wrong?

You are telling them what is right to think?

The likelyhood is though that Bieber fans have never even heard of Queen.

With ANH at 2, TESB 12 and ROTJ 15.

This is better suited to the box office thread on the TFA forum but I don`t see what you point you are making.

I was talking about the ultra incredible success of the PT and using the objective results of box office, after box office video and TV and merchandise sales to talk about the total undeniable fact of the continued success and the incredible brand strength of Star Wars. Which is exactly what happened.

Again why would it upset anyone that the prequels enhanced the brand of Star Wars to an entire new generation? Isn`t that what you want to happen?

Why would anyone not want that to happen?

I would also point out that as can be seen when taking inflation into account how hard it is to attain that level.

So note on that adjusted list`s top 25 only one movie from 2000+ is on there. No guesses which one that is! Only 5 from the 90`s including TPM from 99.

For TFA to match even AOTC 444M will be a massive feat. I think only 4 movies have done that since 2005.

So what is clearly established is that the Star Wars brand strength is incredibly strong over 6 movies and 4 decades.

So again what is the problem?

AHA!

Now we get to it.

On this I basically agree with you with some provisos.

For a majority of the generation that grew up with the OT (I`m one of those BTW) I would say they are certainly more beloved than the generation that grew up with the PT.

Why wouldn`t they be? I lived in that time. I remember what it was like. Outside of Star Wars what was there? Not much I`ll tell you. There was noting that could really match what Star Wars did. The thing I found that did was Doctor Who and that went past Star Wars especially after it was done in 1983.

The generation from TPM and since had so much more to chose in the time between the movies and TV and games etc and this latest generation will have many times more than that even with the movies only a year apart or 3 in 18 months from Dec 15 to May 17.

I don`t consider it special that I love all 6 movies but as we know there are those who love only the first 2, the first 3 and then any other combination of the six and the same will be true for the new movies.

 

I think we're defining success differently. In terms of money, the PT was very successful. But in terms of the cultural impact, it's just another stop in a long line of moneymakers.

It's not ET
It's not the Godfather
It's not Jaws
It's not Casablanca
It's not Rocky
It's not Rambo
It's not Animal House
It's not the OT

Maybe because I'm just an old guy now, but before the PT, Star Wars was one of the last refuges for originality and inspiration. There won't be generations of film makers, inventors, scientists, designers and engineers who point to the prequels as why they decided to change the world. Maybe they will and I'm wrong. But even within these own forums, the vote is split on whether these were worthwhile movies. What does the casual viewer think? They don't care. And that's why the PT failed.

 

Which had a 20th anniversary re-release that laid a big fat egg at the box office. I suppose you'll find some way to blame that on the prequels.

Rambo is a classic movie with massive cultural impact? That's news to me.

Wow, you can see into the future? Then why weren't you able to see how much you'd hate the prequels before you saw them and thus not bother to see them (dozens of times, by your own admission), and then spend over 15 years complaining about them?

Your scientific analysis astounds me.

And your proof of this is? I look forward to more vague, unsubstantiated, generalized statements like, "The polls show the general public doesn't care." Which polls? Where? When? What was the methodology behind them? How were they worded? How do you know the butthurt PT-haters didn't flood said polls, as they rush to every site that makes even a neutral mention of the PT to spew their hatred?

 

The problem here is that you are separating Star Wars into OT and PT.

Let`s do another separation and one that I hear all the time from these same people.

Star Wars and then it`s sequels.

It`s the very first movie they are talking about. Not the others.

The casual viewer does not care about the first movie either or any of them.

You are talking about specific people and trying to make them casual viewers.

They aren`t casual at all they are fans.

More casual people have seen the PT than the OT in recent years.

 

We're at an impasse, then. All sides are passionate about the argument. Let's just agree to disagree and move on.

 

Ran out of non-arguments, did you?

 

No. Just tired of all the petulant arguments.

 

Ran out of non-arguments, did you?
----------

very productive


anyway, I remember the hype about Maul's doubled bladed saber, that seemed to be it's biggest selling point as far as I recall.

 

Where I was it was that and his appearance take it as you may. I thought it was waaaay overdone.

 

Outside of this forum, I have never come across a group of fans who think the PT is better than the OT. Usually the argument is they aren't THAT bad.

Just stop.

You have a well-documented history of trolling well over the line when discussing the Prequel Trilogy - this is the last friendly warning you'll get before some time off. My advice? Stay away from the board devoted to the films that seem to rile you up so much.

 

Quote removed.

this statement is ridiculous. i'm an ot generation guy and i love the pt. you're just sad and tired.

 

Quote removed.

Yes, the hype for the ST is less than the PT. Because people are afraid of another set of mediocre films that **** on the franchise. The lost generation needs to realize that your Star Wars sucked and we have the possibility of getting good Star Wars again. The new generation is ours.[/quote]

Hahaha ! You're so full of...

 

In Australia, the weeks leading up to the release of TPM and the hype surrounding was huge. I recall going to the movies early 1999 to watch Patch Adams, because the very 1st trailer for TPM was shown. All midnight screenings for TPM were sold out about a month before the release. I've been to many midnight screenings for other films, but nothing beats the excitement and anticipation that was felt and displayed by the many Star Wars fans. Even when the movie finished the entire audience gave it a standing ovation, one that I have never experienced again. I don't understand the people who try and rubbish the film, by saying it failed. The box office takings show a large percentage is due to the true Star Wars fans repeated viewings. I guess the haters are a very small number who scream loudly and often when given the chance.

 

Hopefully the Disney films will do ok and bring in new fans, but the interest is no where near the TPM hypes. People are more excited for Avengers and Sups Batman.

 

A simpler time.